Pierre Franey’s Creamed Spinach
Updated Nov. 13, 2023
- Total Time
- About 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2½pounds spinach in bulk, or two 10-ounce plastic wrapped bags
- 1tablespoon butter
- 1tablespoon flour
- 1cup milk
- ½teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt to taste, if desired
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
139 calories; 6 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 817 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
If bulk spinach is used, pick it over to remove and discard any tough stems and blemished leaves. Rinse the spinach thoroughly and shake off excess water. There should be about 2 pounds cleaned weight, or 16 cups.
- Step 2
Bring enough water to a boil to cover the spinach when it is added and stirred down. Add spinach and cook 2 minutes and drain. Run under cold running water until chilled. Empty the spinach into a deep colander and press to extract most of the water.
- Step 3
Put the spinach into the container of a food processor or an electric blender and blend thoroughly. There should be about 1¾ cups.
- Step 4
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk. Add the milk, stirring rapidly with the whisk. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes and add the spinach. Stir to blend. Heat and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
A simple suggestion: Use much less water to cook the spinach. Marcella Hazan famously recommended no more water than clings to the leaves after washing. This approach saves most of the flavor and nutrients rather than leaching them out of the leaves and pouring them down the drain.
Instead of boiling the spinach, we put it in a pyrex dish, cover with cling wrap, and microwave it for a few minutes until wilted but still nice and green. Easy, fast, and clean. Then press out the water and hand chop it, which is also quick and clean.
No real need to puree. In fact, the texture becomes a big blah. Instead, steam the spinach, rinse in cold water, squeeze out excess moisture (use a paper towel) and chop coarsely. Then follow the directions. I've done this for years and it is as good as any steakhouse spinach.
We all loved this. I used frozen spinach, defrosted in microwave before adding to béchamel. Puréed after adding because I was distracted, but that might be better anyway because it allows you to dial in the final consistency.
Agree that bags of spinach as called for (20 oz) only made about 1 cup of drained squeezed spinach, not 1 3/4 Cup. Had another pack, so added that, but could easily have not had enough.
So glad I did a test run of this before choosing it for Christmas Eve dinner. Yuck. Not creamy enough, not tasty. No amount of parmesano reggiano could make it edible. Major fail.
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